Equipment Review: Aiden Department

This post is for anyone who stumbles upon this humble blog and is instantly inspires to bike across Canada. Or perhaps someone who already has the seeds of wanderlust germinating in their fertile minds.

Bike: This obviously will be your most important piece of equipment. I got a 2006 model of the Trek XO1. Note: My bike does not look like the one in the picture as I will explain shortly. My bike was not a exactly a "true" touring bike so I had to upgrade it quite a bit as it was designed more for road racing and light touring rather then a cross-Canada trek. My main point here is that the frame was very strong and made it across which is what matters. Some people prefer to pick up a "true" touring bike and there is nothing wrong with that- in fact it can be better. But just because you don't have a "true" touring bike does not mean you and your bike can't make it across Canada.
The modifications my bike needed in order of importance:
New Wheels: The original wheels had 20 spokes up front and 24 in the back. Not Enough. I got Wheels that had 217-A Mavic Rims, Shimano Deore Mountain Bike Hubs, and 36 BT Swiss spokes. A substantial and worthwhile upgrade as I didn't lose a spoke and my wheel needed only the slightest of truing in Ottawa.
New Cassette (which in turn needed a new chain): I had a double crank which most people would not recommend for Cycling touring- but it is not of foremost importance if you have a large cassette. I got a new one that went up to 32 teeth as opposed to the 24 or 26 that I had before. Tyler had a triple crank but my larger cassette allowed us to move up at the same rate. Tyler could however get to a much higher gear but that generally only came into effect during monster down hills or headwinds. That being said I would have like one lower gear at least for the start of the trip. My uncle did 2 months in Thailand, Loas, and Cambodia with a double crank on a Kona Jake the Snake that he rigged up with a 34 teeth cassette and a different rear derailleur. So if I did it again I would go for a slightly bigger cassette but again I made it so it didn't make a huge difference.
Tires: I got these slick flat-resistant tires called Armadillos that were made by Specialized. They were good- I got one flat on them. Though they lasted for 9000 kilometres togeter rather then 17,000. The back one didn't make it to Winnipeg. The front one could have made it to the Maritimes but I ditched it at Montreal. After that I got from MEC kinda standard folding 700 x 32c tires made by a Japanese companies. They were convenient since they folded but got more flats. They wore out at a similar rate though.
Pannier Racks: A necessary modification for a lot of bikes esp. if they are not 'true' touring bikes. My Blackburn back rack causde me no problems. My Axiom front racks that mounted with the help of the quick release worked good- though one of them snapped in the middle sometime during the trip but since I didn't notice until I got home it was not a issue for me.
Pedals: I had basket pedals but then I got those double clip less type pedals that require a special shoe. I highly recommend them- very efficient and safer then the baskets. You'll bail a bit at the start but it becomes second nature very quickly.

Orignal things that I liked about my bike: Aside from the Bontreager stock seat this essentially boiled down to the headset. The dropdown bars that allow 2-3 hand positions are critical. Mine had two braking positions which was great for downhill. I had a slide shifter and a thumb shifter on each handle which enabled a really sweet and comfortable pistol grip. And I as already mentioned I liked my Aluminium frame. With gloves and handlebar tape you don't notice that fact that Aluminium carries vibrations better then Steel.

Whew that was intense- onto bike gear!
Panniers: I got Arkel Sakaroos- both front and back and for a lot cheaper then the site I linked to- so dont buy them from there. They were basic (which I prefer) and well made (except the mesh which goes pretty quick if you put large fuel bottles in there or have squirrel attracting treats stored there). Though the zippers of the front ones was sketch but only because I overloaded them. I would recommend both- And they were both made of recycled material if you want to feel good about your self.
Shoes: Specialized- haven't fallen apart would recommend the brand.
Clothes: Do not buy Cannondale Spandex- expensive and fall apart. Louis Garneau will fall apart but take longer to do it and are cheaper and as comfortable as Cannondales. Get some cycling jerseys cause you look like a thug. Gloves- got cheap Cannondales- got a hole after riding for a week but it never developed further so what ev. I had a fleece that I wore once and ditched in Montreal. And long johns that I wore once. My rain jacket was apparently horrifyingly heavy for Tyler who had his cycling jacket but didn't make a gain difference to me. A decent rain jacket with some layers is all your going to need. Cycling hood was needed once or twice- I would recommend carrying it causes it is very light and when you need it- you really need it.

Camping Gear
Tent: Used my 3 man North Face Bug 3 that had been set up for about a year before the trip even started. So it needed a new zipper pul in Calgary but that costed 16 bucks so no big deal. Heavy but roomy. Would not carry on a solo trip. But worth it for two guys esp. even one (Tyler) isn't a giant fan of spooning. But we got hella spooning in when Rich joined us for a week- might have been hard to do for another couple of months.
Sleeping Pad- Required- get a small Thermarest or a MEC clone.
Sleeping Bag- MEC Raven- too intense for across Canada during summer but I kinda knew that and I wanted it for colder camping after the trip.
Stove: Whisperlite Internationle. Temperamental- you need a intimate knowledge of your stove. And having a 900 ml bottle instead of a 450 ml might have been more useful. But the ability that it was down with Gasoline was convenient when we missed out on a Hardware store. Always funny buying 60 cents worse of gas.
Cookware: MSR Blacklite- no problems- would recommend though we never used that frying pan.

Thats pretty much it. There are a bunch of little tings but those are the big picture items. If anyone has specific questions we would be happy to answer them in the comments section.

Bonus Random Stats

Lamest Lake Superior related pun/ town slogan: Marathon- "Superior in the Long Run" although it was followed closely by Thunder Bay's "Superior by Nature".

Number of Ferries taken: 6- 3 in BC- Brentwood Bay to Mill Bay, Naiamo to Horseshoe Bay, Across Kootney Lake. 1 in Quebec- Quebec City to Levis. 1 between PEI and Nova Scotia and lastly the 8 hour ferry from North Sydney, NS, to Port-aux-Basques, NFLD.

Number of American States seen: 3- Washington from Sooke, BC and Osoyoos, BC. Michigan from Sault Ste. Marie, ON. And Maine For 100 kms or more in New Brunswick.

Okay now I really have to get a equipment review page up...

Equipment Stats

Number of tires replaced:
Aiden- 3
Tyler- 1
Number of busted tubes:
Aiden- 7 (1 pincher + 6 flats)
Tyler- 1 (1 bust valve stem + 1 flat)
We figured the reason for the difference here is that I weigh more so I put more pressure on my tires .

Number of brake pads replaced:
Aiden- 3 pairs (though I replaced another 2 pairs when I got to Ontario.)
Tyler- 1 pair (he had disc brakes as opposed to rim brakes so generally they were less fuss and worked better.)

Number of destroyed pannier rack sets:
Aiden- 0 (well one metal support was snapped when I got home but it that happened during the trip I didn't notice.)
Tyler- 3 (thank you-crazy Arkel panniers of doom.)

Number of broken spokes:
Aiden- 0
Tyler- 9 (that one is Kona's fault for putting on plain gauge spokes instead of buttered.)

Busted chain?
Aiden- No but I needed a new one after the trip for sure.
Tyler- Once in Manitoba.

Miscellaneous damage:
Aiden- One bent quick release (thanks Greyhound), destroyed handlebar tape, 2 gear cables (thanks Quebec mud), and a new cassette was needed at the end.
Tyler- Bright shiny new set of shifters was needed in Calgary and new wheels needed in Cape Breton because of the lame spokes.


The moral of the story is that if your cycling across Canada remember:

A) Get hardcore rims with 36 buttered spokes.
B) Have disc brakes instead of rim brakes.
C) If you want hardcore panniers get an equally as hardcore rack to hold them.
D) Lay off the party packs of cheese snakes and don't weigh 200 pounds.

Cross Canada Reflections

The statistics entry below is sort of an intro to this post. A cursory glance will tell you that we skimmed through only about a fifth of the top 100 urban areas in this country. Keep in mind that only 20 percent of Canadians live in settlements not on the list of the top 100 cities or towns. Only a few countries can compete with Canada in the sheer vastness department. And those who can (the States, China, and Russia) have far larger populations. For this reason, despite being a profoundly urban nation, Canadians still have an attachment to the vast rural wilderness that surrounds us even while we cling to our pockets of concrete. Biking across Canada really reinforces this impression. Taking the back roads also allows you see the tiny hamlets and villages that you would miss otherwise. And despite most of Canada living in cities, the countryside is still largely fairly industrious. The declining forestry industry is still keeping on from BC to Newfoundland and most places in between. Mining though dead out East, is booming in BC and Saskatchewan and is at least staying afloat in Sudbury. Agriculture and ranching is very present in every province. Though here in Canada there are still vast areas of wilderness even if you don’t include the North. Parts of BC interior, Northern Ontario, the middle of New Brunswick and nearly anything not on the coast of Newfoundland all come to mind. The regional geographic differences such as the above examples are probably what really jumped out at me across Canada the most.

But that said the differences among people were also pretty interesting. It’s easy to find many different peoples across Canada. Language is the most obvious marker. From Manitoba to Nova Scotia we biked through Francophone communities and obviously had total immersion in Quebec outside of Montreal. Another obvious one is the fact the original inhabitants of this land are very much still here. I lost count of all the First Nation reserves we went through. And cities like Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and Thunder Bay all have large Native minorities. Biking through rural farming communities you see a lot of evidence of the immigrants that settled this land and whose descendents still live there. Random examples would be: Sikhs in BC, Ukrainians in Alberta, Dokhobours in Saskatchewan, Mennonites in Manitoba, Finns in Ontario, United Empire Loyalists in New Brunswick, Scots in Nova Scotia, Irish in Newfoundland with English and French everywhere in between. There are more subtle regional differences as well- or not so subtle in the case of Newfoundland. But really all that diversity and all those differences are superficial. I found that people were pretty much the same across Canada. Even if it is hard to communicate with someone (such as a Quebecer or even a Newfoundlander) everyone is more then willing to give you directions and help you out. And no matter where we were we always got a couple people coming up and asking what we were up to and encouraging us when they found out. So really Canadians are far less different from each other then we often imagine.

Aside from the Canadiana reflections I have to comment on our expedition unit. It was the smallest expedition group that I have had the pleasure of being a part of so the dynamics are obviously quite different in a two man unit as opposed to a 6 or 12 person group. We each had our expertise- mine on the camping/expedition side of things whereas Tyler was far more knowledgeable about bikes and cycling. We each had snippets of regional familiarity- Tyler guided us thru Calgary and Ottawa and I led thru the crucial metropolises of Aldergrove, BC and Thunder Bay, Ontario. And we both know how to get to Brentwood from the Mill Bay ferry terminal. Anyway it’s impressive that we made it 8400 kilometres and three months together as we can be pretty different people with slightly differing worldviews to say the least. But it’s hard to imagine myself doing it without Tyler so a heartily thank you. I don’t where we would have been without his heroic dishwashing efforts, steely determination in fending off Quebec bikers from jacking our campsite and the ever present can of bear spray- just in case the Grizz tore through the Subway window during lunch. And of course all the memorable conversations, jokes, arguments and debate whether good or bad while we were sober or shitterwrecked will be missed. I couldn’t ask for a better touring companion myself.

Tomorrow or so I will throw up a equipment review with some stats so that’s something to eagerly await.

Random Canada Statistics

Cites over a million visited: Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa and Montreal.

Cities over 600,000: Winnipeg and Quebec City

Cities over 100,000: Victoria (BC), Saskatoon (SK), Thunder Bay (ON), Sudbury (ON), Trois-Rivieres (QC), Levis (QC), Moncton (NB) and St. Johns (NF).

Cities over 20,000: Naniamo (BC), Sault Ste. Marie (ON), North Bay (ON), Kanata (ON),Riviere-du-Loup (QC), Fredericton (NB), Charlottetown (PEI), and Sydney (NS).

All in all we went to 19 of top 100 urban areas in Canada according to population.


Ethnic and/or regional flags spotted: Metis (MB), Franco-Ontarian (ON), Quebec (it counts I suppose), MLNQ (QC), Acadian (NB and NS), Cape Breton Island (NS), and the Newfoundland Tricolour.


Just for fun- Subway Log:

Total amount of Subway stops- 27

Provinces with 4 Subway meals- British Columbia and Ontario.
Provinces with 3 Subway meals- Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Newfoundland.
Provinces with 2 Subway meals- Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Province with 1 Subway meal- Prince Edward Island.

Most Common Sub for Aiden- Italian BMT with 13 occasions
Amount of times Aiden succumbed to the lure of double stacked meat- 9
Amount of times Tyler succumbed to the lure of double stacked meat- 0

w00t! Maple Leaf Foods recall here we come!

A More Elaborate Conclusion Entry

Well it has been over a week since Tyler and I have returned to our respective bases in Calgary and Brampton so I guess it’s about time for a more complete conclusionary entry. To start I will recall how Newfoundland was won.

Newfoundland as you can tell from the trip statistics is bigger then you might think and it took as 8 days of biking to complete. Deer Lake to St. Johns was the most challenging as it was five days of relentless cycling of between 120 and 135 kms. The first four days were overcast with a serious headwind and a seemingly never-ending chain of hills. Occasionally there was a downpour but generally it was just drizzling. We had some nice camping along the route. We stayed in the first National Park of our trip I believe- Terra Nova- which improved the somewhat drab scenery but at the cost of some serious hills. Along the way we ran in Brian and Pat again for probably the fifth time, Greg from Montreal who was in the same shuttle bus over Confederation Bridge as us and for the fist time Mike and Mary from Victoria- you can read their blog here.

Our last night on the road we stayed at a campsite 5 kms out of Arnolds Cove where there is a giant refinery briefly making me think of Sarnia, Ontario. We were ready for a big push the next day got up uncharactictally early- around 615 am. We got off to a good start even though the conditions- hills, headwind, and overcast weather- continued unabated. The only other minor problem was that Tyler had a bottle of hot sauce explode in his pannier after it hit a rock in the shoulder- messy but non-threatening. Then, 35 kilometres into these conditions we started going east rather then south and that seemed to change everything. All of a sudden we had a tailwind, and the weather improved dramatically. The hills (perhaps because of tailwind) because less and less signifigant. It was a wonderful to cycle with such ease at the end to our journey across Canada. 100 kms later, I was almost euphoric at the sight of St. Johns and its harbour from the last hill on Highway 2. Tyler called his friend from there and I called my Mom because she wanted me to call her before I reached the city- which puzzled me at the time. I told her that we would be at Mile 0 in about 15 minutes. 10 minutes later after cycling by the incupicious sign we had arrived. Then my brothers sauntered out from behind a bush which was a huge and most welcome surprise.


We found time later that afternoon to dip our wheels in Quidi Vidi Harbour which was our official end to the journey. That night we partied and got screeched in at famous (or infamous) George Street. My brothers and I spent a couple days in St. Johns enjoying its sights and strange weather. The highlight was when then rented bikes and came with me to Signal Hill (which overlooks St. Johns and was the site of the first transatlantic radio transmission) and Cape Spear which is the easternmost point in North America. There were quite a number of hills on the way to Cape Spear which were the hardest on Rhys with his fully tricked out mountain bike but it was a very worthwhile trip.

I’m going to write another entry concerning the whole journey later and another entry will be an equipment review. And a huge thank you the large number of people who hosted us and met up with us along. And same goes to everyone who read our blog and encouraged us. And to special thanks to Rich and Simon who traveled with us for about a week apiece.

Trip Statistics

Distance

Total from Sooke, BC to Qudi Vidi, NFLD according to Tyler's bike computer-8406.1 km

British Columbia- 1318 kms taking 14 days of cycling.

Alberta- 665.8 kms taking 5.5 days of cycling.

Saskatchewan- 698.5 kms taking 5.5 days of cycling.

Manitoba-634.8 kms taking 4.5 days of cycling.

Ontario- 2223.5 kms taking 17.5 days of cycling.

Quebec- 748.6 kms taking 6 days of cycling.

New Brunswick- 615.5 kms taking 5.5 days of cycling.

Prince Edward Island- 193.3 kms taking 2 days of cycling.

Nova Scotia- 314.6 kms taking 3 days of cycling.

Newfoundland- 946.2 kms taking 8 days of cycling

71.5 days of cycling in total

Done!

Just a quick update to tell you all that we have finished safe and sound. Expect a series of entries over the next couple of days finishing off the trip. First off a big thanks to Lanny for offering, and his dad Max for putting Aiden and I up for a night in Deer Lake, it was a great time. We arrived in St. John's yesterday afternoon completing the cross Canada cycle trip with a total distance of 8401.2 kms. Aiden's brothers Rhys and Elliot were waiting at 'Mile 0' to give us a surprise visit. And a surprise it was (It's OK Scott, I understand.) My friend Shawn met us shortly after we arrived in St. John's and suggested that we go to Quiti Viti harbour to take our pictures beside the Atlantic. Quiti Viti is a scenic little harbour with a very rugged shoreline just a short ride from downtown St. John's and made a great spot to officially end the trip. That's it for now, but check back soon for a proper conclusion.

Nine Down- One To Go!

Right now we are at the base of Marble Mountain which is during the winter time is Newfoundland's ski destination but not so much now. We have a short hop to Deer Lake today as there's a place for us to stay there. We did 140 kms yesterday which was very enjoyable because the tailwind some very lengthy downhill sections. After today's ride we will be a little less then a third across Newfoundland.

So far Newfoundland has been treating us very well. We have no other choice of roads besides the TransCanada Highway but it is a good road with large shoulders and not much traffic. At least the traffic is still somewhat paced to the ferry so there are sporadic waves of trucks and cars. Cheapest campsites since Saskatchewan- one night was 10 dollars and last night was 11.30. We asked how much firewood was at our first campsite and the guy replied in a thick Newfie accent that: "This is Newfoundland- you don't pay for wood here!" Another guy came over later gave us a stack of kindling he chop for us so thus far the people here have conformed to their friendly stereotype.

For bit of a flashback we made to Sydney two days after Antigounish. Sydney is a somewhat post-industrial town with a gritty reputation. Although it's infamous Tarponds were bit of letdown- they looked more like a creek then largest volume of toxic waste dumping in North America. Sydney is also the unofficial capital of Cape Breton Island which Tyler was shocked to discover is in fact an island rather a peninsula of Nova Scotia mainland. Tyler's back rims started failing on the island and about 12 kms from Sydney he had lost 6 spokes on his back tire causing it to rub against the frame. Not too safe so he had to take a cab in and we spent 3 days in Sydney getting new rims. We stayed at my friend Phoebe's apartment. We last saw each other when I as eight so it was super nice of her to let us crash at her place. We got a bit of sightseeing a we made it over to the Glace Bay Miner's Museum which I highly recommend if your ever in the area.

Should be a nice short ride today and we will probably be completing our journey in a week's time- w00t.

Coast to Coast? Check.

After taking a day off in Fredericton, Aiden and I began to make our way to the Atlantic Ocean. The first glimpse of the Atlantic was in Shediac, NB a place that certainly seemed to like its lobster as there was a giant plastic one outside the info center and more lobster restaurants than I have seen anywhere. From Shediac we were only a morning's ride to the Confederation Bridge that links PEI to the rest of Canada. While waiting for the shuttle bus to take us across the bridge (cyclists aren't allowed to ride it themselves) we met two other cyclists who were also waiting. One was a French gentleman on a mountain bike who we had seen the day before and the other was an older guy riding across Canada solo. The man with the mountain bike had done some riding in some pretty interesting places (Argentina and Chile were two he talked about) so I suppose his choice of bike made sense.

I had been warned by several cyclists along our travels about how hilly PEI was. Our first day on the island heading towards Summerside certainly disproved that; it wasn't any hillier than what we saw in Saskatchewan. In Summerside we were lucky enough to have accommodation that wasn't campsite, we were hosted by Brian and Daphne (Daphne, a friend of Aiden's mom, knew Aiden from when he was a little kid in Halifax.) It was our first home cooked dinner in a long while which was an excellent change. Thanks again for having us! The next day we did what seemingly everyone else visiting PEI was doing and that was to visit Cavendish and all of the Anne of Green Gables stuff. I haven't read the book, but the house that inspired Anne's home in the novel was nice. I thought the best part of the town was Cavendish Beach, I really liked the steep red cliffs.

On our way to Charlottetown we took advantage of the old railbed that has been converted into a bike path that runs the length of PEI. The path was some solid cycling, and in a uniform good shape, so I didn't break any spokes this time. On the ferry from PEI to Nova Scotia both Aiden and I were disappointed when they didn't have BC burgers for us at the cafeteria, other than that it was similar to what BC Ferries is like (except for the boat being a little more retro.) We had a long day into Antigonish, but it was good in that we have just over 200 kms of cycling left in Nova Scotia, so hopefully two relatively easy days await us before Newfoundland. More on the theme of running into cyclists, we saw Brain and Pat again at the Antigonish campsite, kind of funny how we keep running into them. Bed time.

The Maritimes- ah the Prodigal Son returns

So we have made it to Fredericton- the capital of New Brunswick. Tyler has never been to the Maritimes and I haven't been to this area for 15 years since my family left Nova Scotia where I was born. Certainly getting a different view then my hazy recollections of Fundy Bay. We have been rocking out on secondary roads in the St. John River Valley. The roads are in good condition with little if any traffic. It is very scenic farmland and forest area as well.

In New Brunswick culture, we have witnessed the big money of prominent NB families at work. We camped in a campground outside of a Irving lumber mill and have seen over a half dozen stores of their province wide gas station chain. One day near Grand Sault/Grand Falls we biked by a McCains plant and that same day we camped in Floranceville the "French Fry Capital of the World" which has a giant smelly French fry plant, the McCain Corporate headquarters, McCains R&D division, and New Brunswick only potato museum.

We started our New Brunswick portion in L'Acadie so it was very similar to Quebec though people were generally bilingual especially in Edmundston which made it much less of a production ordering Subway with our mangled French. Saw a few Acadian flags though they were mostly paired with Canadian and New Brunswick flags. But we moved into English New Brunswick fairly fast and wont be back to the Acadia portion until Shediac and that coastal region.

Now is time for a flashback of our last few days in Quebec. We dealt with horrendous headwind upon leaving Quebec City. And La Route Verte map wasn't too accurate on the location of a campsite so we ended up camping behind a gazebo beside a church in the very foggy hamlet of Saint-Denis. At least it was free. The next day we had lunch at Riverie-du-Loup. From there to Edmundston, NB it was 135 kms on an unpaved trail of an old railbed. A little hairy in the rain but pretty fun. And no traffic save for a furtive car or two taking illegal shortcuts. Tyler only lost 2 spokes- w00t. We camped our last night in Quebec under a shelter with a fireplace in a Cabano campground. The next morning we ran into Brian and Pat- two trans-Canada cyclists we had met in English River, Ontario- about 2500 kms ago. Their website is here and has a picture of us.
Now we are going to get some tuneups tomorrow and leave towards Moncton. We'll be thru PEI and into Nova Scotia in no time.

Je voudrais une poutine et demi-litre bouteille du vin s'il vous plait

Well, we are in the heart of La Belle Province now. Quebec City is really nice even if it is a giant tourist trap. It is celebrating its 400th anniversary so it is particularly hopping this summer. The people are super friendly as well- while biking around the city looking confused we were asked if we needed help four times. Three of them were fellow cyclists who spoke decent English and each of them just told us to follow them so they could show us the best route. Paul McCartney is here preforming (not sure who figured that one out- he's not exactly linked to Quebec is anyway or even speaks French). As a result we can't get to Plains of Abraham, or the Citadelle with its Van Doos museum. Tyler is convinced McCartney has a personal vendetta against us. That aside Quebec City has alot to offer.

In general, Quebec is the most bike friendly province so far. In Montreal I scored a English guide to La Route verte which is a Quebec-wide bike route. It go through some classic Quebec rural villages each with the requisite massive Catholic Church. Great views of the St-Lawrence Seaway are easy to come by as well. It's interesting how you can see much of the original seignural system of land distribution of the long narrow farms so everyone had access to the river.

Quebec is also the home of poutine my favourite dish. I got a poutine avec cheese curds, chicken and peas for dinner tonight at the Chez Ashton a Quebec fast food chain. Probably the healthy thing around. Between poutine, crepes, and half-litre stubbies of wine you can get from any depanneur we are eating well in la belle province.

La Belle Province

So far both Aiden and I have been very impressed with the cycling in Quebec. The province has a series of bike paths that connect the majour cities under the name "la Route Verte." There is a map book that you can by to accompany your journey along the paths that lists cyclist friendly accommodation and other things that interests cyclists: condition of the shoulder on the road (when the route goes on the highways) or things like elevation charts for hilly areas. I heard some bad stories about the roads in Quebec from some of the other cyclists I've run into that have done this trip, so far we haven't seen any of it, so we're hoping they took a different route...

On our way into Quebec City we ran into three different cyclists that went out of their way to help us. The first showed us the best way to get downtown, which happened not to be on la Route Verte, and the second and third both helped us to find our way to our first night's accommodation in Beauport. We were staying in two different places in Quebec City because it was next to impossible to find a place to stay and this wasn't the first time this happened on the trip. The first time it was hard for us to find a place was in Saskatoon, SK. The night we showed up was in the middle of a particle accelerator convention; I kid you not, that is what it was, and as a result most of the hotel rooms in the city were gone (Saskatoon, apparently, has the only particle accelerator in Canada.) The reason for the lack of hotel rooms in Quebec City was due to Paul McCartney performing on the Planes of Abraham for Quebec's 400th anniversary. I'm not much of a Beatles fan, and even less of a Paul McCartney fan. I saw him and his motorcade zipping around the city today, I wasn't impressed and wish I had my seal pelt on.

As a city, Quebec City is certainly beautiful. We spent most of out time walking around inside the city walls of Old Quebec City. It is like old Montreal, but much larger, and seems more genuine. It was definitely like visiting a well preserved European city, and gave me a good idea what it would have been like here a long time ago (something that is rare for a North American City.) There was quite a bit I couldn't see today because of Sir Paul and the security associated with his concert (bahhhh) so I think I'll be back.

So Close, Yet So Far

We made it to Montreal in one day, and in one piece. Google Maps told us the distance from my place in Ottawa to my brother's place in Montreal was 198 kms, but we were hoping that we'd be able to push it over 200 kms. Alas those folks in Mountain View know what they are doing so my cycle computer recorded the final distance as 198.20 kms. Guess we are going to have to try again to get a double century.

The actual ride was nice, we had a solid tail wind blowing us to Montreal all day long, and the highways so far in Quebec have had more than enough of a shoulder. About the only gripe I had with the route we selected was that the 40 kms or so before Laval we were obviously on the route to the Montreal garbage dump. It was a nice little secondary highway, but our experience was punctuated by full garbage trucks passing us on the way out of town and empty ones heading back into town. In case you were wondering, there doesn't seem to be a great difference in the smell associated with a full or empty truck.

Aiden had another bit of bad luck with a sharp little piece of metal on the way through Laval. The leak was slow enough that he was able to make it all the way crest of Mt. Royal along Cote des Neiges before he elected to change the tube. It turned into quite the ordeal getting the tire back on and involved ruining another tube in the process, needless to say it wasn't something either one of us wanted to do after cycling 190 some kms. Luckily for us, Aiden's mom is here to visit so there was the promise of a good meal waiting for us. Today is a rest day and we'll be heading out tomorrow to start our way onto Quebec City.

Back to the Beginning (Kind of)

I’m now back to where it all started. Well at least where all the planning, the training, and the purchasing took place for myself. The cycle from Sault Ste. Marie to Ottawa was a fairly good one; pretty flat until we got to Mattawa where there were quite a few hills until we got to Deep River. The scenery along the ride was nice, but nothing spectacular. It was what I expected all of Northern Ontario to pretty much look like, so to reiterate again, I was certainly impressed with the Lake Superior region. Aiden was unfortunate to get the second puncture of the trip on the morning ride into Sudbury. We weren’t completely sure if the jagged metal shaving that punctured his tube was a piece of nickel, but we’d like to think so. It'd almost of made changing the tube worth it. Almost.

For the most part the campsites along the way kept up the Ontario streak of being overpriced. In Deux Riviers we campe clost to paying $31.00 for a campsite as we were told by the tourist info center in the previous town that it was the only one. Luckily for us, on the way into Deux Riviers we saw what looked like another campsite so we decided to check it out. It was indeed a campsite, but it wasn’t quite open yet. It had new owners so they were renovating and weren’t normally accepting customers. The owners were very nice and offered to let us stay there for free, and even offered to let us sleep under the big tent they had setup for a party the week before. Had it not been for the mosquitoes we would’ve probably taken them up on the second part of their offer. Aiden was convinced they were South African, I thought they were Scandinavian, needless to say we never really figured it out, but they were still great hosts for not taking any of our money (and would have been even if they had taken some.)

I was pretty excited to be travelling through Deep River and Chalk River, hoping I’d be able to catch a glimpse of the nuclear reactor. There were, unfortunately, too many trees in the way so you couldn’t see jack. Aiden says I need to go to Pickering, apparently you don’t have any trouble seeing the plant there. Coming into Ottawa from the North West was kind of neat, I had never entered the city from that direction so it was interesting to see how close it was to being in the forest. Out in Kanata, where I worked for over a year, always seemed like it was surrounded by farm land, but from what I’ve seen now it is more like it is on the edge of a forest that stretches all the way up to the Arctic Circle.

Thanks to everyone in Ottawa that gave me food and drink, and for those that I didn’t get to see I will certainly tell you in person about the trip when the whole adventure is over. It’s off to Montreal tomorrow which should be interesting; Google Maps tells us the trip is going to be 191 kms, so if that’s correct (or if we make it that far) it’ll be our longest day ever!

Along came a Spyder

So Simon is back in Newmarket now- he was with us from T-Bay to almost Sault Ste. Marie. I'm not positive if my liver has recovered from our daily 24 pack demolition. A true test of endurance that most cyclists shy away from I'm afraid. It was great having him along though. Our dinners and breakfast quality really improved while he was around. But we have quickly managed to find our way back to canned chili and oatmeal. Our last night with Simon was at Montreal River Harbour which has great sunsets, one store, one campground and 7 registered voters. So a little small.

The terrain got less hilly on the way to the Soo. We ended up there on July the 4th but didn't catch any fireworks from the American Sault Ste. Marie. It was our first sight of the States since Osoyoos, BC. The next day we had off and we ended up going the Canadian Bushplane Museum which had about 20 old bushplanes. The pride of the exhibit was the first De Havilland Beaver ever made. They also had a De Havilland Twin Otter and one of the few surviving Fairchild Huskies.

We have been making good time and are in Sudbury right now (yes we did see the Big Nickle) and our destination tonight is Sturgeon Falls. And today we ran into Fraser- Simon's brother in law on the old highway 17 so that was pretty cool/random. We should be in Ottawa by the end of the week.

Northern Ontario Wildlife

As of this writing we are in Wawa, ON which Aiden would like to mention is the birth place of Chris Simon (one of my personal favorite ex-Calgary Flames.) Northern Ontario has had some really nice scenery, I've been thoroughly impressed. I was expecting just a lot of trees on some rolling terrain with a view or two of a lake thrown in. Sure it has been like that but they have been some great looking lakes, and some good looking rugged rocky stuff. Certainly better than I thought it was going to be. What hasn't been better than I than I thought has been the bug situation; at times it has been horrific. The mosquitoes are pretty standard, not much I can complain about there, but the black flies are something else. They just won't leave you alone, no matter what you do. What's worse is that just putting on pants and a long sleeve shirt isn't enough, the sick little creatures will crawl up under your clothes to bite you on the exposed skin. Pretty savage.

As for larger wild life, on Canada Day, Aiden and I both saw a bear and moose. It was pretty cool, we had been waiting a while to see either of these two. The bear was up on a ledge overlooking the highway, upon catching a glimpse of us, he stood up to take a better look. It wasn't too long before he decided he wanted nothing to do with us and turned around and went into the bush. It wasn't a large bear, Aiden says it was probably a teenager and was certainly not a grizzly so posed little threat to us. The moose was pretty much the same deal, it was just standing there on the side of the road, took one look at us, wasn't very impressed and then turned around to walk casually back into the woods. Given how quickly all of this unfolded and the pathetic zoom on both of our cameras the pictures left a lot to be desired. They might be salvagable and uploaded at a later date when we have more time.

In Thunder Bay Aiden's Uncle Simon joined us on his Spyder (essentially a three wheeled motorcycle) and it has been great having him along. He normally goes ahead, does his own thing for most of the day, and then sets up camp at a predetermined site. It's pretty awesome because by the time Aiden and I roll in some hours later he has dinner pretty much already made, a fire going to keep those savage black flies away, and of course some cool beverages to quench our thirst after a long day on the bike. I don't know how much longer he is going to be following along with us (or ahead of us...) but it is definitely most appreciated.

On the way to Nipigon, ON my front pannier rack broke again. Yes, this is the third rack I've broken, so I'm getting pretty tired of it. Luckily there was a welder in town that could weld aluminum so the rack is better than new with his heavy duty welds. I should have special ordered in the custom rack for the bags instead of the cheaper ones in the store; certainly didn't save any money... Anyways, he was a really great old guy with plenty of stories to tell as he was doing his work so it was a fairly entertaining experience. One thing he told us wasn't a story of his, but a current event, and that was that two cyclists had just been killed in Manitoba and two others were injured.

There is no reason for things like this to happen; there is plenty of room on the road for everyone. Manitoba has had the worst section of Trans Canada that we have been on, there are no paved shoulders and the road in general is in poor shape. It is ridiculous and the province holds part of the blame, that is for sure. This is exactly why Aiden and I are avoiding the Trans Canada at all costs, just too many cars, as such we did almost all of Manitoba on secondary highways. Thankfully the Trans Canada here in Northern Ontario has a paved shoulder almost everywhere. I have no idea how much more money it costs to add that extra couple of feet of pavement but I imagine it would be negligible. Aiden and I get passed by hundreds, if not thousands of cars a day, and we haven't had a problem yet, and the drivers passing us don't seem to have a problem either. So I can't help but to wonder what the person in the Honda Civic was thinking, but that is most likely the problem, he wasn't.

Loyal She Began, Loyal She Remains: Rolling into Ontario

As of this moment we are in Dryden, ON- hometown of Chris Pronger. There's a campsite in town where we are staying. It came with a mini Saint-Jean-Baptiste day celebration as there's a Quebecois couple camping beside us. The conversation with our mangled French and their broken English is a sneak preview of the Quebec leg of our journey.

Anyway, the first night of Ontario was spent east of Kenora. Kenora is home to the Kenora Thistles who won the Stanley Cup in 1907. The town doesn't let you forget that fact as your riding into town. In Kenora I finally got to see Huskie the Muskie- their giant roadside attraction fish- up close and personal; another life dream fulfilled there.

We stopped in Winnipeg for a day. The Peg has a pretty nice downtown core. Checked out the Forks which is a National Historic Site. It is where the Red river and the Assisboine converge. A more interesting area was over the river in Saint Boniface which still maintains a very French character. It is here where you can find the grave of Louis Riel and some of his lieutenants.

Here are some other Manitoba memories in no particular order:
-Seeing traditionally dressed Mennonite woman rip around on her traditional riding lawn mower.
-Confusing the hell out of the deer- they take one puzzled look at us and our strange devices and then they tear away as fast as they can. One guy didn't stop for at least 400 metres.
-Shredding my back tire. The rubber seperated and had suffered close to 20 tears- the biggest being a 4-5 inch gash. Good thing we carry spares.
-Ripping to Gladstone- just beating a major lightening storm. The storm's winds helped us reach 40 km/h speeds which is really nice on flat ground.
Also making use of a strong tailwind, I went from Grandview to Gilbert Plains -13 kms- all in my top gear.
-Steak on the grill at Gilbert Plains- we also had potatoes and garlic bread.
Riding Mountain National Park- hilly but a really healthy forest surrounded but lower lying farmland.
-Tyler snapping his chain just outside of Riding Mountain which was bit of a production to put on a new one, but we did it.

It's raining right now but hopefully it'll let up and we can power to Ignace which is 110 kms away.

Goodbye Rich

Even though we were in Saskatoon for two short days it was nice to get back on the road again (that is not to say Saskatoon wasn't a nice place as it's a pretty city for the most part.) The first night back in the tent was spent in Humbolt, SK which, as Aiden is so keen to point out, is home to Glen “Mr. Goalie” Hall who similarly to Gordie “Mr. Hockey” Howe also grew up in rural Saskatchewan. Apart from its famous hockey playing progeny, Humbolt was typical of the larger prairie towns we have come across in our travels. That is to say one major road which also happens to be the highway and a couple of side streets where the people live, and not really much else. Humbolt also happened to be the place where Rich decided it was for the best to throw in the towel. I certainly can't fault him for it, he rode from Calgary to a days ride past Saskatoon without any training. As such, he did a great job keeping up and he certainly carried more than his share of food. The Last we saw of him he was riding west to grab a Saskatoon bound bus where he would then presumably be heading to Edmonton to give Jared a surprise visit. Aiden and I both had a lot of fun cycling with him for that week and a bit and hope his knee and ankle begin to feel normal again soon (but not too soon, so he remembers us for a little longer.)

Today's ride was record setting; we smashed our daily speed average record by a full 2 km/h to bring our new daily speed average record to a whopping 25.8 km/h! Well not quite whopping, but I still think that it is somewhat impressive. To put things into perspective, we traveled 146.97 kms today, meaning we were cycling at around 26 km/h on fully loaded touring bikes for just under six hours. That sounds a little more like it. Aiden and I were wondering when the ride through Sasquatchewan was going to live up to our expectations of the quickest cruise of the trip, and now that we are within half a day's ride from Manitoba it seems to be shaping up that way.

Headwind

We've made it as far as Saskatoon now, and it wasn't without a little difficulty of late. We were happy to have a helpful tail wind to blow us to Calgary (our longest day yet at 159.36 kms) so I guess it was time to have the wind blowing the wrong way, all day. After leaving Drumheller there was a brutal headwind coming from the North, and to Adrian's (and our own) dismay that is why we missed out on the Big Vally Creation Musuem. It was just too far out of the way to justify the visit under such adverse conditions. The East of Canada, however is not something we can avoid if we want to bike across the country and unfortunately for us, the past two days of cycling have involved a relatively strong headwind coming from the north east. It has been some tough going for Aiden and I, so I can't even imagine what it was like for Rich who came from working on the deck of a fishing boat all day to cycling all day; we certainly are impressed.
Other than the headwind Saskatchewan has been a great place to cycle. The roads have been great for the most part and the people have been really helpful. We were in subway for lunch one day and one of us forgot a pair of sunglasses (not pointing any fingers.) On the way out Subay we had a brief conversation with an RCMP officer about the trip and then continued on down the highway. Not two kilometers out of town, an RCMP cruiser came down the highway from behind us with the lights on and sunglasses in hand. It was a nice thing for him to do, and the person who forgot the glasses appreciates it.
Another day we were planning on stopping for lunch in the small town of Tessier, SK but found that the store was only open until noon (we were less than 60k from Saskatoon so we didn't have anything but snacks left.) Luckily for us, Rich ran into a gentlemen on the street whose wife ran the store so he suggested that he'd go get her to open it up for us. Experiences like this certainly show what great people make up this country, well except for the idiots that drive past us and lay on the horn as if to tell us to get off the virtually empty highway...